Track Premiere: "The Hunt" by Kat Lock

Spurred on by quarantine limitations, Kat Lock collaborates with producer Lonemoon to bring out a new side to her music.

As COVID-19 continues to shake the world in 2020, music persists. From the balconies of Italy to Fenway Park, musicians have found creative ways to work around the limitations of the global pandemic. Singer-songwriters have had it better than full bands, with live streaming and rehearsal options not as confined by social distancing standards, but what of singer-songwriters with bands?

Kat Lock, while a solo artist, often depends on a full rock band to achieve her musical visions. Since quarantine, though, her live output has seen her streaming over the web with only an acoustic piano rather than fronting a stage with an electric guitar. Would a Kat Lock quarantine album sound the same? Yes and no.

An Existence officially releases tomorrow online. It is a brief new collection of songs recorded during the pandemic, and fittingly, Kat Lock’s solo work here is more solo than it’s ever been. Also fittingly, she’s not alone. Multi-talented producer Lonemoon collaborates to bring orchestrations to Lock’s songwriting.

In this Make Oklahoma Weirder exclusive, listen to one of the seven new tracks, “The Hunt”, ahead of the album’s release. (For listeners in the unique position of working away from home, please note that there is an f-bomb in here.)

“The Hunt” is a train of thought restlessly puffing in search of a way through life where meaning, survival, and happiness braid together. It’s a line of questioning many young adults face when the proverbial training wheels come off. Sure, if lucky, one can cycle without a hitch, but where to go?

If the song structure of “The Hunt” is any clue, the initial charge from adolescence will be manic with possibilities and fresh experiences. As one fine-tunes one’s values, however, one gradually finds a way to exist, slowing in uncertain energy until, eventually, something works well enough provide at least some stability. This can be physical, spiritual, psychological, etc.

Kat Lock runs through a shower of topics ranging from a car wreck she had in 2010 to the history of humankind’s treatment of the planet. Meanwhile, Lonemoon gradually brings in an ever-blooming arrangement that builds around Lock’s quarter-note chords. Starting with vocal choruses, “The Hunt” picks up sounds of harp, string, snare, and horn until it flourishes in the track’s latter segment. It mirrors the search and growth that is compressed into the song’s three minutes.

When “The Hunt” climbs to its final peak, it’s an uneasy triumph. Citing a Sinatra standard, Lock gives in to her personal values, consequences be damned. The track’s slower tempo and more laid-back time signature in this section signifies both a sense of security and fatigue. Similarly, Lonemoon’s finishing fanfare is majestic and heavy, closing with a lingering low tone underlining Lock’s lingering doubt.

It’s not exactly the resolution promised in childhood fables, but that’s precisely what Kat Lock’s songwriting likes to deconstruct. An Existence is no exception, and in these uncertain times, it’s perhaps more appropriate than ever.

An Existence will release on the same day as Human Together Music Fest, a streaming event assembled by The Human Together Podcast Show that takes place Friday evening at 7 pm Central. Kat Lock is one of a select lineup of musicians from the Oklahoma City area as well as from other parts of the world. Visit the podcast’s Facebook page for artist interviews, event details, and more.